We revisit the classic problem of buckling of thin spherical shells under uniform pressure and explore the effect that geometric imperfections can have on their buckling behavior. Since the 1960s, numerous theoretical and ...

Flexible microwires fabricated from conducting polymers have a wide range of potential applications, including smart textiles that incorporate sensing, actuation, and data processing. The development of garments that ...

In certain electrochemical battery cells, inefficiencies arise due to the formation of hydrogen from corrosion reactions at the anode. One way to reduce these inefficiencies is to operate the cell at high current densities, ...

The focus of this thesis is the design and testing of membranes for separation of water-in- oil (w/o) emulsions. A polycarbonate membrane treated with octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) is used to filter a 3 wt% w/o emulsion. ...

This thesis has characterized the applicability and limitation of PDMS micromolding and the substrate bonding techniques including both anodic (Si-glass) and thermal fusion (glass-glass) bonding, in fabricating sub-100-nm ...

The process of assistive reproduction is often a headache and heartache for those who choose to go through it. The field currently relies heavily on morphological characteristics to determine embryo health and development ...

Microcontact printing is form of soft lithography utilizing an elastomeric stamp with a molded relief pattern to print features on substrates through ink transfer at micron and nanometer scales. This is a low-cost technique ...

The industry's need for low-cost nano-positioners led MIT's Precision Compliant Systems lab to design a system of 10 six-axis meso-scale nano-positioners. They devised a system that could revolutionize the nano-scale ...

Increasing worldwide and domestic demands for power and clean water will require advanced heat transfer materials. Superhydrophobic micro- and nano-structured surfaces which promote a jumping droplet mode of condensation ...

The development of biomimetic devices will benefit from the incorporation of actuators with combinations of properties common to biological systems, for example low density, controllable mechanical flexibility, and compact ...

A 19th century Herreshoff marine steam engine was developed using a combination of traditional and modern fabrication methods. Background on Nathaniel Herreshoff, his connection to MIT and the Herreshoff Manufacturing ...

Moth eyes minimize reflection over a broad band of angles and colors and lotus leaves minimize wetting over a broad range of breakthrough pressures by virtue of subwavelength structures patterned on their respective surfaces; ...

Microfluidics has the ability to greatly reduce the time needed to do many biological tests. The development of polymers has brought about substrates with elastomeric properties that can be used to the advantage of ...

This paper describes the techniques used to fabricate a one meter long, 1/6 scale model of a Small Waterplane Area, Twin Hull (SWATH) Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) that will be used primarily for dynamic seakeeping testing ...

An experiment was done to determine the ability to fabricate carbon aerogel electrodes for use in a phosphoric acid fuel cell (PAFC). It was found that the use of a 25% solution of the surfactant Cetyltrimethylammonium ...

The purpose of this research was to learn the relationship between force and deformation in forming of micro-scale inductor coils. This was accomplished by applying large-deflection beam bending to the case of planar wire ...

Diffraction gratings are fundamental optical elements that separate incident light into its constituent wavelength components. This dispersive feature of diffraction gratings has been broadly utilized in many applications ...

High efficiency diffraction gratings are important in a variety of applications, such as optical telecommunications, lithography, and spectroscopy. Special interest has been placed on blazed diffraction gratings for their ...